NFL players more likely to suffer injuries during games played on colder days, finds Study

A latest study has found that NFL players have higher chances of suffering concussions and ankle injuries in the games played on colder days. In order to conduct the study, researchers in Canada examined data on the five most suffered injuries that occurred between 2012 and 2014 during two National Football League seasons.

The findings showed that players faced double concussion risk and a 1.5 times more risk of ankle injuries during the time when the temperature was 50 degrees Fahrenheit or colder in comparison to games played in 70 degrees.

The researchers also discovered that players had 1.36 times more risk of suffering shoulder injuries when they played games on natural grass and not on synthetic turf.

Lead author of the study Dr. David Lawrence, a clinical fellow at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, said that there has been huge discussion lately over the major risk of injury in the NFL and player safety, specifically related to concussions.

In a hospital news release, he said that the initial step to improve player safety and cut that risk is to spot the factors that have been contributing to injury rates. He said that once these questions will get answers, they can start modifying player exposure.

Lawrence mentioned, “There is limited research looking at external risk factors for injuries in NFL. Given this is among the first studies to look at these variables, we can only speculate at this time on underlying causes for associations we observed with specific injuries on game days”.

They said there are more chances that players will report injuries at the time of colder games because they tend to be more in touch with athletic staff when it’s colder. There might be another case that in warmer weather, players think that concussion symptoms are some heat-related sicknesses.